The difference between industrial beer and craft beer

When it comes to beer, many of my friends may know well-known beer brands such as Budweiser, but never thought that beer can be divided into industrial beer and craft beer. So what is the difference between the two? Let’s take a look at the following aspects today.

1. Different brewing raw materials

Beer is a low-alcohol fermented wine containing carbon dioxide, which is brewed by adding hops (or hop products) with grains and water as the main raw materials through yeast fermentation. According to the raw materials and fermentation process, beer can usually be divided into craft beer and industrial beer.
(1) Craft beer: Only use malt, hops, yeast and water for brewing, without adding any artificial additives. Compared with industrial beer, there is more malt content, more hops are added, and the brewed wort has a higher concentration. Usually, craft beer does not need to consider the cost too much when brewing, and most will choose the best raw materials to brew.
(2) Industrial beer: It is also brewed using malt, hops, yeast and water, but in pursuit of cost, more raw materials such as rice, corn and starch are used instead of malt. The beer wort produced in this way has a very low concentration and a light taste.

2. Different fermentation process

The fermentation process of craft beer and industrial beer is also different. Usually craft beer uses the Ale process (Ale, upper fermentation process), and industrial beer uses the Lager process (Lager, lower fermentation process). The main difference is the location of the yeast during the fermentation process and the fermentation temperature.
(1) Craft beer: mostly Al process. Yeast works at the top of the fermentation tank and floats above the liquor. The fermentation temperature is generally controlled at 10-20°C. Fermentation tanks are usually small, and filtration and sterilization treatments are not performed after fermentation.
(2) Industrial beer: mostly Lager process. Yeast works at the bottom of the fermentation tank and sinks under the liquor. The fermentation temperature is generally controlled below 10°C. Fermentation tanks are large, and filtration and pasteurization are usually used after fermentation to increase the shelf life (shelf life) of beer.

3. Different development history

The fermentation history of craft beer is longer than that of industrial beer. Craft beer has appeared before industrial beer.
(1) Craft beer: At the beginning (craft beer) Al beer was produced by women to protect their families from surviving in harsh environments (such as plague, famine, polluted water, etc.). In the Middle Ages, a large number of people died of the plague, and the church took over the production of beer. As the market demand for beer has increased greatly and profits are also high, craft beer has developed rapidly. At that time, many European royal families also established their own royal breweries to brew craft beer.
(2) Industrial beer: In the 1940s, the beer brewers in Bavaria, Germany brought the beer fermentation process to Pilsen, Czech Republic, and produced the world’s first golden beer-Pilsner (industrial beer). With the emergence of equipment, beer, which is stable in quality and not easily deteriorated, is suitable for large-scale industrial production and transportation. With the advancement of transportation methods, Pilsner beer and Pilsner brewing methods soon became popular throughout Central Europe.

4. Different style and nutritional value

(1) Craft beer: Craft beer usually adds more types and quantities of malt, yeast and hops, and can be brewed in different styles, such as wheat beer, heavy dark beer, amber beer and fruit For beer, there are nearly 100 styles of craft beer in the world divided by type. These craft beers have the characteristics of strong aroma, high content of wort, thick and full taste, higher nutritional value, and high price.
(2) Industrial beer: In order to unify the taste of the finished product, usually the brewing process and style of industrial beer are simple, and the fermentation time is very short, so industrial beer has a light taste, more bubbles, low wort concentration, low hop content and alcohol content. Low-grade features, its natural nutritional value and price are also low.

5. Different storage time

(1) Craft beer: Most craft beer does not undergo filtration and sterilization treatment, therefore, craft beer is not very resistant to preservation. Most craft beer has a short shelf life, and some have a shelf life of only tens of days.
(2) Industrial beer: In the later stage of fermentation, industrial beer is often filtered and pasteurized, and has a long shelf life. The shelf life of general industrial beer is 1-2 years, and some can even reach decades.

6. Drink differently

(1) Craft beer: Usually it has a rich and heavy taste and high alcohol content, suitable for slow tasting.
(2) Industrial beer: usually has a lighter taste and low alcohol content, suitable for large mouthful drinking.

We have already understood the difference between industrial beer and craft beer, so what are the brands of craft beer and industrial beer? Industrial beer: Budweiser, Carlsberg, Carlsberg, Beck’s, Heineken, etc.

Craft beer: Vedett, Brew Dog, Weissbier, Kostritzer, Dogfish Head, Pilsner and many more.

In fact, whether it is craft beer or industrial beer, as long as it pays attention to beer quality and tastes good, it is worthy of our consumption and affirmation. Have you ever thought about brewing good beer at home? If we have DEGT beer brewery equipment, we can brew our favorite beer at home.

michelle@degonget.com

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    Kate